Hidden Motives
by Valentina Domini
Summary: -Yaoi story- Altaïr is surprised when he is forgiven for all the pain that he has caused to Malik and he was even more surprised when they started to become good friends. He also starts to become paranoid because he can think of every reason for Malik to kill him but no reason for him to love him. Is this relationship something true and real or are there some dark hidden motives?
1. Confession

[Disclaimer: I do not own Assassins Creed or any content related to it's storyline or characters. This story is pure fiction from fan appreciation]

The air was cold and the night was clear, the full moon lit the dusty rooftops and the city was silent. It was around 4 in the morning, the time when everyone was sleeping and the streets were empty. Altaïr waited on the rooftop of a house which was next to a dark alley, it seemed like a shady place but it was perfect because no one went there at night. There had been rumours of murders, robberies, kidnaps and rapes in that dark alley, but that was not the reason why Altaïr was there. He was waiting for his friend, Malik. Altaïr was surprised when Malik agreed to meet him in private, Altaïr thought that he had not been forgiven, after all he was partly responsible for the death of Malik's only brother. Altaïr regretted his actions everyday, if he had not been so foolish then Kadar would still be alive and Malik would not have been so emotionally scarred.

He knew that Malik was scarred because one day he had stopped by the bureau later than the usual working hour hoping that no one would be there so he can access some information uninterrupted. He was about to enter the bureau but he heard someone breathing. The breath was suppressed at times but then it escaped in bursts of uncontrollable silent sobbing. He slowly entered hoping not to be noticed and he walked towards the back room which was lit by flickering candlelight. He did not dare to enter the room, instead he looked through the keyhole to see Malik slumped on the floor in tears looking his impressive drawing of Kadar. Malik had not always been good at art but ever since he had been locked away in the bureau to do mind numbing office work, art seemed to be his only escape from reality but this time reality was hitting him hard. He spoke to the drawing as if he was speaking with his brother  
"My life is meaningless since you have been gone. I used to have a sense of duty, to protect and raise you but I failed my duty and you suffered the consequences. I do not know why you had to go and why I'm still here, there's nothing left here for me. There's nothing. No one understands my pain and there is death everywhere. They think it's normal, they laugh at death like a life is meaningless. I used to be the highest rank in our brotherhood and now even the novices show no respect. They see an old man who had a freak accident, they don't understand. Everyone thinks wants to see the freak show and I'm the freak with one arm. I have started to slowly hate the people here and ever since you have been gone the world seems so cold and evil. I want to go with you, why did you leave me here in this cold world?" he sobbed. At that point Altaïr felt he had heard enough and left quietly.

Ever since that day he had been determined to make Malik happy, he would write little cheerful notes for Malik to read when he was bored or feeling sad. He once stole a kitten and brought it into the bureau as a surprise for Malik. He remembered that Malik had been both pleasantly surprised and angry at the same time, he tried to tell Altaïr that work was no place for animals but he could not resist the cuteness and he smiled for the first time in a long time. Something touched Altaïr's shoulder and he almost fell off the rooftop in surprise. He suddenly remembered where he was and turned to see Malik.  
"Did I scare you?" he said trying to suppress his laugh. He looked so confident these days, if a person looked at him they would never believe how broken he once was.  
"No... I'm not scared of anything but I did not expect you to come. How did you get up here? I thought you couldn't climb since…" Altaïr stopped, he didn't want to remember what had happened on that fateful day that Malik lost his arm and his brother  
"I can still climb… also there was a ladder" he replied avoiding the awkward subject  
"I'm really glad you came here" Altaïr smiled nervously "there's something I've needed to talk to you about but I never had the chance to do so because-"  
"I think I know what it's about"  
"You do?"  
"Yes. It's really obvious."  
"So… what do you think I'm going to say?" Altaïr asked hoping that Malik really did know what he was talking about  
"I've seen it in your eyes for a while. You do so much for me when I do not ask you for anything. You ask me to meet you in this secluded place in the middle of the night. I already know that you're a killer so there's not really much else that you would need to tell me in a place like this. You don't need to tell me anything because I already know" Malik smiled.  
"Do you…?" Altaïr was speechless and surprised.  
"Yes"  
"Really?"  
"Yes"  
"And do you also…"  
"Yes"  
"I…" Altaïr did not know what to say but soon nothing more needed to be said when was pulled in for a long kiss. He could still not understand how someone who had once hated him could feel this way about him now. It seemed too good to be true, maybe it was, he didn't know but he had already stopped caring because he did not want to lose this perfect moment.


	2. Trust

It was a stuffy afternoon. Altaïr and Malik were relaxing in the shade of the bureau, Malik was calculating the weekly maintenance costs of the bureau and the equipment for the local assassins while Altaïr was taking his break before he headed back out into the city. This was how they usually spent their afternoons, they did not show any affection to each other in the day because they knew that it was too dangerous to risk being caught. Their love would not have been accepted by the brotherhood or the world so they needed to keep it secret by acting like there was nothing going on. Nothing at all. Suddenly Malik looked up to Altaïr who was resting on some cushions  
"When was the last time you shaved?" he asked  
"Yesterday, why?" Altaïr replied  
"You didn't shave very well. Let me shave you" Malik said rolling up his sleeve to reveal his hidden blade. Altaïr suddenly felt scared as Malik walked towards him with the hidden blade. He didn't know that Malik still carried weapons around and he was sure the hidden blade was only meant for killing and other knives were used for other purposes. He was also unsure if he could trust Malik with a blade, if he wanted to kill anyone Altaïr was sure that he would be top of his list.  
"Wait!" he said uneasily  
"What's wrong?" Malik stopped confused  
"Do you always use a hidden blade to shave? I don't think it would be very effective"  
"Don't be silly, it works fine" he laughed and he sat on Altaïr's lap  
"What are you doing? Someone might see!" he panicked and Malik pressed the dull part of the blade to his lips  
"Shhh, this helps my accuracy. Now keep still, we don't want any accidents" he smirked slowly cutting the hair from Altaïr's face. Altaïr did not move  
"Why do you look so scared? Don't you trust me?" he asked. Altaïr thought for a second and he realised that he really didn't trust Malik but he was in no position to say that.  
"I trust you…" he lied.  
"Good" Malik smiled and he quickly kissed him. Altaïr grimaced  
"Don't be so careless, what if someone saw us?"  
"Well no one saw us so don't worry"  
"Yes but what if-"  
"Quiet. The more you talk about it the more likely someone could overhear. Just pretend it never happened and keep still, I don't want to cut you" Malik winked. Altaïr was silent but he was slightly angry about his carelessness and Malik could see this.  
"You're cute when you're mad" he smiled. Altaïr silently ignored him as he cut away the hair "I love you so much that even when you're angry with me you're still adorable. If I get mad would you still love me?" he asked  
"Of course" Altaïr whispered hoping that no one could hear them, the bureau was empty but it was normal for people to walk in unannounced.  
"Really?" Malik said his blade slightly pressing on Altaïr's face "I think you're lying"  
"What do you mean?"  
"You don't love me. You never did." Malik said slowly cutting into Altaïr's cheek  
"Mä please. I love you, I would do anything for you" Altaïr said worried, he could feel blood dripping from his cheek  
"You were always trying to find new ways to destroy me. You took my brother. You took my arm. You took my life and now you're trying to take my soul. But you can't have it! It will never be yours"  
"Malik I-" Altaïr felt a sharp burn on his throat and then he felt warm liquid pour down neck  
"I'm a monster. Look what you did to me. You broke me. Look at what you've created, you did this to me!" he said crying with Altaïr's blood on his face "But I'm not the real monster here. You are! And now I've slayed you" Altaïr coughed and struggled to breath because of his blood. He was so sorry for everything and the sorrow in Malik's eyes broke his heart  
"Malik, I love you" Altaïr choked with tears running down his face. He saw Malik's face turn from anger to fear and then everything went dark

With a sharp breath Altaïr woke up and grabbed his throat. It wasn't cut, he was okay. He looked around to see that he was in the bureau and Malik was standing at his desk with a pen in his hand, watching in surprise. Altaïr had fallen asleep. It was all a dream.  
"Are you okay? You said my name while you were sleeping" Malik asked looking worried  
"Yeah I'm fine. It was a bad dream"  
"What happened? Was I in your dream?"  
"No... it was nothing. Just a scary dream, don't worry" Altaïr smiled while Malik looked at him anxiously  
"You should have some water. You'll feel better"  
"Thanks"  
"You should also shave, you'll feel more refreshed" Malik smiled. Fear hit Altaïr and he ran out of the bureau  
"No! That's not happening!" he shouted as he climbed out of the building and out of sight. Malik watched half amused half worried  
"I love him but he can sometimes be very strange..." he chuckled to himself, then he shrugged and continued his work


End file.
